


Disparition

by DontBeJelly



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Pre-ship, also maggie is haunted, and it's a mess, but i've seen maybe 5 episodes, so i'm not tagging it, the setting is smallville, they're teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2019-01-17
Packaged: 2019-09-04 23:48:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16799476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DontBeJelly/pseuds/DontBeJelly
Summary: Disparition: French. (obsolete) The act of disappearing; disappearance.Maggie runs away from her aunt’s house a year after being kicked out. Being on the run means taking shortcuts between towns and staying in warm, dry corners of abandoned buildings. But some thing don’t take well to even a scared teenager passing through with no ill intent. When Maggie reaches Smallville, a novice witch is her only hope of living to see the end of summer.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Based on this abandoned farm post: https://majordetectiveagent.tumblr.com/post/180468867384/a-guide-to-exploring-abandoned-farms

The moment her aunt’s car turned the corner, Maggie yanked her blankets off and reached under her bed. The backpack was stuffed full but not heavy. Her feet hit the floor lightly, even if she was home alone. There was no reason to make noise when it was avoidable. 

Maggie grabbed her raincoat and double checked to make sure her one pair of wool socks were in a pocket before shoving her hat backwards on her head. She opened her bedroom door carefully, not letting it creak. After avoiding all the noisy floorboards, she picked up her shoes before going to the back of the house.

The kitchen still smelled like dinner, and her stomach gurgled. Maggie had eaten as much as she could, but the knowledge of leaving behind a stocked kitchen made her hungrier. She stuck a banana in her other jacket pocket.

Taking a deep breath, Maggie sat and pulled on her socks and shoes. Jacket and backpack went next. Only then did she rummage to the bottom of the junk drawer for the old maps. Her uncle had been big on hunting, back when her aunt was married. There were half a dozen laminated maps of Nebraska and the bordering states. Maggie didn’t have a compass, but she knew the sun rose in the east and set in the west. As long as she headed due south, she would be fine.

Maggie looked around the kitchen and fisted her hands. Her aunt was kind. Her aunt didn’t deserve to be burdened with a kid like her. Maggie was the reason her aunt had to work twelve hours a day. Maggie was the reason half the church didn’t talk to her aunt anymore. Maggie was only going to cause her aunt to suffer.

It was better for everyone if Maggie left.

The back door opened and locked almost silently. Outside, the night was cool but not cold. As long as Maggie kept a steady pace, she would stay warm. After checking to make sure the neighbor’s dogs were in for the night, Maggie hopped the fence and set off.

It was an hour walk to the creek that separated Blue Springs from Wymore. Maggie knew she would have to cross the water to avoid being tracked by the K-9’s. Her father may have thrown her out, but he wouldn’t want her disappearing from her punishment. He wouldn’t stop until he found her and made her return to her position as town outcast. 

In Wymore, there would be a dollar store with a dumpster full of expired food. Maggie could grab a handful of undamaged canned goods before following the creeks and streams south. Sticking to the waterways would allow her to cross often and give her access to water she could boil. The trees that lined the banks would protect her from the sun and rain.

Maggie stopped for a moment when she passed the last building in Blue Springs. She was running away from home. She was about to walk until she reached some big city along the Gulf that didn’t see snow. There were a thousand miles between her and her destination.

But it would mean freedom.

Maggie wrapped her hands around her backpack straps and continued on. There was no going back to how things were; there was only forging a new life for herself.

~*~

Back when her uncle was alive, Maggie went hunting and trapping with him every year since she was seven. It wasn’t that she liked the idea of killing animals for sport. Hunting meant stocking the deep freezers in her house and his own home to last all winter. It was one less thing for her mother and aunt to worry about; there would always be food, even if it were duck for the third day in a row. 

His lessons weren’t only in how to track and how much to take. 

*

“Why can’t we cut through this field? It doesn’t belong to anyone.” Maggie had asked as they hiked around an overgrown lot of land with unkempt fences.

“That’s where you’re wrong.” He was soft-spoken and had never been upset about what she didn’t know. “No one living cares for the land. But it’s been claimed by things you can’t see.”

Maggie had looked into the swaying tall grass, but her uncle gently turned her face forward.

“We don’t go looking for trouble.” He took a deep breath and checked the tracks they had been following. “There is no asking permission to cross an abandoned field, and forgiveness is never granted. You already know the coyotes are not always coyotes, yes?”

Maggie nodded furiously. For as long as she remembered, hearing coyotes meant getting inside that very instant and locking the doors and closing the curtains.

“These things are...more, on abandoned farms.” He did not indicate worse, or powerful, or troublesome. Only more. “Farms are not abandoned easily. It takes a lot to drive a family off their land. People believe in farms in a way that goes back to when we all decided it was a good idea to live in one spot instead of following herds.”

Maggie pointed to the tracks as they veered off and away from the abandoned field. “We need farms, and people want them around.”

“Exactly. People put a lot of good faith into farms. This one here is surrounded by those doing well enough for themselves, so it’s not the soil or the weather.”

Maggie remembered her best friend’s television show. “From beneath you, it devours?”

He gave her a pointed look. “If you could refrain from further disturbing quotations while the sun is setting, I’d appreciate it.”

“It’s from a t.v. show.”

“It’s a bit too close to the truth for my comfort.” 

*

Maggie found herself disobeying every rule her uncle had taught her during that hunt on her second day. She was half tempted to ask his forgiveness, except she was trying to not call down any new ghosts. Bad enough she had already picked up one.

Maggie had been forced into an old basement of an abandoned farmhouse the day before when a funnel cloud got too low to the ground. She had stuck as close to the top of the stairs as possible, not wanting to bolt it shut and risk being locked in when no one knew she was down there. 

Maggie hadn’t wanted to be locked in with whatever had claimed the basement.

The entire time Maggie watched the funnel cloud swirl low, slowly crossing the land in her field of vision. As far as she could tell, it didn’t touch down. Maggie would’ve had to head deeper into the basement if it had. She waited as long as she could. Usually, Maggie wouldn’t have emerged until the funnel cloud was out of her sight entirely. But whatever was in the basement was Angry. 

Maggie bolted out of the basement. She made sure to shut the doors completely. But it was too late. Even as she continued south, tears slipping down her cheeks as she apologized, she knew it was too late.

Something was following her.

~*~

Crossing the creeks just outside of her hometown had been relatively safe; those particular waterways saw enough real people to be free of outside influences. But now Maggie was miles from people, and these streams didn’t reflect moonlight in a way for Maggie to judge their depths. Crossing the water was dangerous at night; not only was it cold, but there was no telling what was on the other side waiting for her.

If the other side was of the world she left on the further bank. 

Maggie, however, was desperate to lose what had latched onto her while she avoided the tornado. Crossing water, especially wide and fast-moving water, might just be enough. Maggie had to hold on to that hope since it was apparent that leaving the Thing’s original farmland wasn’t enough. Maggie risked walking along the highway, just out of sight, in hopes something Else would scare it off.

No luck.

In a small town that was maybe a mile wide, Maggie had gone into a church. The Thing proceeded to break the glass windows trying to get to her. Maggie hadn’t wanted to be found, a runaway, in a church with broken windows by any kind of authority. Even if the locals believed she had picked up Something, they wouldn’t thank her for bringing it to their town.

Maggie was now sticking to napping through the heat of the day. She kept moving at night, making torches from dry branches in her path. The light held her Shadow at bay. Fish were her primary source of meat since she couldn’t find any sign of other wildlife. 

For two long, terrifying days, Maggie kept her eyes forward and her mind occupied with all the knowledge she had gained from her uncle. How to plant a tree seed, how to nurture it, when to transfer it from planter to dirt. Which berries were safe, and which would kill her, and which should only be eaten as a last resort. She fashioned traps one-handed using stolen chord. 

Finally, one morning, Maggie found a shallow but fast moving river. She made sure her pack was secure before trudging through the knee-deep water. It was cold, and her shoes were waterlogged almost instantly. 

Behind her, something growled. 

Maggie kept her eyes on the far bank as the growls turned to howls turned to screams. Her body shivered from something other than the cold.

Once on dry land, Maggie didn’t stop moving. She didn’t look back. She didn’t care that her feet would blister and her legs would chafe. Rest could come when the Thing no longer had her in sight.

~*~

Maggie walked along the edge of a cornfield beside an unknown highway. Her shoes had dried in the summer sun while she slept. She had changed her jeans, and the damp pair were draped over her backpack. For the first time since her first night away from her aunt’s, Maggie felt excited about her journey. The stars were out, the half moon was bright, and the air was fresh.

Maggie lifted her torch towards the first sign she had seen in hours.

“Smallville, Kansas. Meteor capital of the world.” Maggie huffed. “Forty-five thousand idiots living a place that gets bombarded by meteors. Hopefully, they’re dumb enough to leave the doors to the church pantry unlocked.”

Maggie checked her watch. She had a good six hours before dawn, and maybe four hours of the general populace being asleep. She could definitely raid a town for supplies and be on her way before anyone would be awake to see her. 

When Maggie was free of the cornfields, she doused most her torch and brought out her flashlight. She didn’t want to be seen while carrying around so much fire, but she wouldn’t put the light out completely until she was under street lamps. Besides, fire were it shouldn’t be, especially along a lonely highway, was more likely to keep the curious away.

Maggie looked over a well-groomed farm and saw an orchard. It wasn’t big, but fruit was fruit and apples were easy snacks. She killed her torch and hopped over the fence. The trees weren’t at all far from the road, but they weren’t too close to the farmhouse or barn. Maggie would go unnoticed as long as there weren’t any dogs around.

Maggie was stuffing the pockets of her backpack with bright red apples when she heard an all too familiar howl.

The Thing had caught up to her.

Maggie ran. She bolted for the barn. There was shelter to be found on active, well cared for farms. Life and love and necessity filled barns. Sure, she might spook whatever animals were within, but their lives and breath were a natural shield against the likes that followed Maggie. 

The orchard trees groaned and shook behind her. She eased the doors open and slipped inside. The slamming wood wasn’t her doing. Maggie turned around for the first time since she gained her Shadow. The doors rattled. The goats and sheep made no noise, but they were nervous and eyeing both Maggie and the creaking doors.

Sunlight wouldn’t scare off her shadow. The noise would bring the owners soon enough. Maggie could feel the panic crawl up her throat for the first time in a year and a half. 

“Caerimonia, Minerva. Saepio, saepire, saepsi. Saepio impedimentum!”

Maggie whirled around. In the loft was a teenage girl, dark-haired and bright-eyed. She was pissed. But she was also using a laser pointer on the doors. 

“Caerimonia, Minerva. Saepio, saepire, saepsi. Saepio impedimentum!”

Maggie backed away from the doors as the rattling ceased.

“If you have a voice, use it!” the girl in the loft demanded.

Word by word, Maggie repeated the chant. Symbols were etched into the wood with the laser pointer. Though not permanent, it seemed to be working. They faced each wall and did the same. 

The growling faded. Maggie still didn’t want to go outside.

The teenager climbed down the ladder. “Who the hell are you? You look like shit.”

Maggie knew better than to give her name, especially to magic users. “My dad kicked me out. I thought I lost that thing yesterday at a river crossing.”

“Whatever you did must have pissed it off enough that it found it’s own way over.” She looked Maggie over. “Oh, great, you decided stealing from Mrs. Kent was a great idea.”

Before Maggie could reply, the barn doors swung open.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do not ask me where, in Smallville continuity, this takes place. I have NO clue. After high school for Lois and Clark, definitely, but he hasn't been Superman for long. The series/place of Smallville is more of a convenience than actually relevant, anyway XD

The doors to the barn opened, and Maggie would never admit to almost pissing herself.

“What’s going on out here, Lucy?” The man was the epitome of “Farm Boy,” but he wasn’t at all mad. Concern filled his eyes as he took stock of everything.

“Girls night.” Lucy obviously didn’t care what he thought of her. “Meet my new friend.”

The trees in the orchard groaned. Growls filled the air.

He looked outside, then at the animals. “You’re both spending the night inside if there are coyotes out.”

“I can be on my way, actually,” Maggie said, wanting to be nowhere near people or in a steady location.

“In the morning, since it’s obvious you walked here.” He glanced behind him as the growls continued. “The coyotes around here are a bit more aggressive than others.”

Maggie decided she could spend one night indoors as long as she stayed awake. If the cops pulled up, she could take the chance they wouldn’t pursue someone with a Shadow.

Farm Boy had his hands on their shoulders as they left the barn. Lucy closed the doors, so he didn’t have to let go of them. Maggie could feel eyes on the back of her neck. She didn’t look at anything that wasn’t Lucy.

The walk was brisk. Neither Farm Boy nor Lucy asked Maggie’s name or where she was from. Instead, they told her there was leftover stew that could be easily reheated, and the water heater should have enough hot water for her to get a decent shower. Farm Boy told Maggie about a fresh guestroom that someone (he looked pointedly at Lucy) refused to use.

The back door to the farmhouse opened before they reached it. The young woman standing in the doorway had enough resemblance to Lucy that Maggie figured they were related.

“This is why we sleep indoors,” the woman said as she stepped aside to let them in.

There was a crack of wood behind them, and the ground shook as something thundered over towards them. Maggie felt pushed by Farm Boy and yanked by Lucy into the house. The door slammed shut. The four of them turned around as something scratched on the wood.

“Okay,” Lucy said as she flipped through a notebook she had brought with her, “since we all know that isn’t a coyote, say this with me and hope we don’t need clove to make it work.”

Scrawled under a page titled “Protection,” Lucy pointed to three sentences. Maggie tangled her fingers with Lucy’s while Farm Boy and the other woman put their hands on their shoulders.

“Violence restrained, demons disarmed. For mortals within these walls, no harm. Protection and safety this charm doth endow to make this shelter a sanctuary now.”

“Where do you even get this stuff?” the woman asked as the growling receded into the darkness.

Lucy shrugged. “Charmed and Buffy.” She looked over her shoulder. “I’m so telling the General you used magic.”

“I thought you liked being free of boarding school for a few months?” She shook her head. “We’ll talk in the morning. Get this one cleaned up and fed, then go to sleep.”

Lucy saluted her, and the adults headed upstairs. “I’ll show you where the guest room and bath are, then get some food heated for you.”

“I really shouldn’t stick around.”

“Yeah, see, I’m not letting you out there. So you can shower and get a full stomach, or you can stand here all night.”

Maggie’s stomach gurgled. Her scalp started to itch. She sighed. “I could use a shower.” If she was hauled back to Blue Springs, she could always leave again.

Lucy led her through the house, grabbing a set of sweats from her bags in the guest room and a towel from a closet. Once in the bathroom, Lucy said, “Don’t come out for a good fifteen minutes.”

When Maggie emerged from what had to be the best shower of her life, Lucy was at the dining table. There was a bowl of steaming soup in front of one chair. Lucy had half a slice of pie on a plate in front of her. Maggie sank down into the chair and picked up her spoon. When she glanced at the windows, she saw the curtains were drawn.

“I’m not giving anything a chance to look in,” Lucy said. “Or scare myself by looking out.”

Maggie took two spoonfuls of soup and tried not to die of joy. “You don’t seem easy to scare.”

“Trust me, I was terrified.” Lucy shrugged. “I’m just going to go down fighting, is all.”

Maggie looked down at her stew and continued to eat.

“Look, that’s not how I mean it.” Lucy sighed. “You didn’t have the weapons to fight what that is, so finding a safe place to wait it out is legit, okay? As for what you told me in the barn? Some things you can’t fight. Parents are one of them.”

Maggie glanced up at her and swallowed her bite of food. “You’re not gonna ask why he kicked me out?”

“I’m gonna let Lois do that in the morning. She’s the one who’s gonna need answers if you’re gonna stick around.”

Maggie’s eyes went wide. “I’m not planning-”

Lucy snorted. “Yeah, your plans just met my sister and the biggest Boy Scout in Kansas. Neither of them is gonna let you continue to hide in barns and steal apples.”

“But if anyone knows where I am, I’ll just get sent back.”

Lucy considered Maggie for a long moment. “Maybe. I don’t get along with Lois all that well, but when she decides something? She sticks with it. As long as you didn’t hurt anyone, you have the two of them in your corner. Around here, that’s enough.”

“We’ll see.” Maggie dug into her stew. Exhaustion was starting to creep up on her, and she didn’t want to fall asleep with her face in a bowl of the best thing she’d had in days.

~

Lucy groaned as she woke to the sound of roosters crowing. It was the one drawback of being able to spend the summer away from boarding school. Okay, so being around her sister was another drawback, but Lucy wasn’t going to tell Lois the roosters might actually be worse than Lois herself. She looked behind her and was relieved her new friend hadn’t run off.

Okay, so, the other teenager wasn’t a friend. Yet. The girl hadn’t hesitated in doing magic and wasn’t stupid to what was out in the world. And Lucy really couldn’t fault someone for stealing apples in an unguarded orchard.

Being pretty didn’t hurt Lucy’s opinion, either.

Rolling her eyes at herself, Lucy pushed herself up and made sure the girl was covered with blankets. Clark hadn’t demanded Lucy help out as part of her condition for a room, but Lois had. Lucy wasn’t stuck with hard labor, but she knew to get her chores done before it got too late in the day.

“She still asleep?” Lois asked when Lucy sat down to breakfast.

“Far as I can tell, yeah.” Lucy started to make her tea and coffee the way she liked it, making sigils with the sugar and milk. “I didn’t get her name, though.”

Clark handed Lucy a page from the newspaper. “That’s fine, I already found it.”

Lucy looked over the missing persons' announcements and found her new friend under the “New” column. “Margarita Rodas, fifteen, from Gage County, Nebraska. She’s been gone for barely three days, and she’s already picked up a hitchhiker? Or is that the reason she was kicked out?”

Lois frowned. “She was kicked out?”

“You can investigate when she’s awake,” Lucy said, folding the paper and setting it aside. “I made her eat and figured the two of you could be the bad cops.”

Clark looked out one of the windows, having opened the curtains when he came downstairs. “I don’t think that coyote is still out there, but I want you both to stay inside. I’m going to take Lois into work and come right back.”

Lucy perked up. “Does that mean I’m off the hook for chores?”

“That means you get to do dishes and make dinner,” Lois said. “And keep a scared, on the run teenager company.”

Lucy agreed it was a fair trade and didn’t dare complain. She wanted to stay close to the house, anyway, just in case the girl tried to sneak away.

The three of them had just finished cleaning up the table when they were joined by the exhausted teenager. She took one look at her picture in the paper on the table and paled.

“No one knows you’re here, Margarita,” Clark said, holding up his hands. “This is the first day your picture has been in our paper. Lucy says you got kicked out?”

“It’s Maggie.” She was quiet, judging them from the doorway before sitting next to Lucy. “And he kicked me out a year ago.”

“You’ve been on your own for that long?” Lois asked, far more concerned than she was before.

Maggie shook her head. “I’ve been living with my aunt. But I’m such a burden to her…” She shrugged. “Wasn’t welcomed anywhere but her house, anyway. Figured I’d just find somewhere no one would know me.”

“I’m not going to say something about you not being a burden to your aunt,” Clark said, “but I will say you can stay here and get your bearings.”

Maggie considered him, looking for a fault. “The price?”

“Nothing you’re thinking,” Lois said. “But when you can go outside, I think you can deal with the orchard for a week or two.”

“When I can go outside?” Maggie’s brows furrowed. “I have to stay in here?”

“Until we can figure out how to get rid of your hitchhiker.” Lucy put the orange juice and coffee in front of Maggie. “Which means I need to know the details of how all this happened.”

“And preferably before tomorrow,” Clark said as he and Lois headed for the front door.

“Why?” Lucy asked. “What’s tomorrow?”

“My cousin is coming to visit.” He took a deep breath. “With her adopted older sister.”

He and Lois were out the door a moment later.

Lucy stared after them. “He has a cousin?”

“A cousin that doesn’t know about coyotes,” Maggie pointed out.

Lucy grinned as she brought over toast and butter. “Oh, you’re smart. That’s hot.”

Maggie blushed but quickly busied herself with making food. “Hey, they didn’t ask why I got kicked out?”

“Do you want me to ask?”

“I don’t know. I just feel like you should know what you’re getting into with me.”

“The way I see it, you’ve got a missing person’s picture, not a wanted one.” Lucy held up eggs and got a nod in reply, so she started cooking.

“But you might not feel the same when you know why.”

Lucy shrugged. “I go to ROTC boarding school in Amsterdam because my dad is convinced that will be enough to cure me of by bisexual witchcraft.” She winked at Maggie. “He’s wrong.”

Maggie could feel her shoulders relax. “Is that why you’re here with your sister?”

“She managed to convince him that being on the farm would be hard work. Fortunately, she knows I’ll make her life hell if she actually goes through with that idea. So, I get a real vacation in exchange for doing the more menial tasks around here.”

Lucy made some bacon and tossed an apple at Maggie. She wasn’t sure if the other teenager would talk or not, yet. Lucy figured Maggie didn’t want to get comfortable only to be tossed out again. But, Maggie also wanted a sense of steadiness her life had been missing.

“My dad kicked me out because I told a girl I liked her.”

Lucy swallowed. At least her dad made sure she’d get a roof and three meals. “Neither Lois nor Clark are going to care that you think girls are pretty.” She looked over Maggie. “And that’s just a plus in my book.”

And, really, Maggie turned such a pretty shade of pink that Lucy was just going to have to compliment her more often.

After putting the rest of the food in front of Maggie, Lucy grabbed her laptop and notebook. She started to search for the darker urban legends of the farmland between Smallville and Gage County. Lucy let Maggie eat in peace. There would be time to figure things out after Maggie wasn’t starving.

“There was a tornado.” Maggie pushed a few crumbs around. “It didn’t touch down near me, but I had to hide in an abandoned cellar.”

“And there was something already down there.”

Maggie nodded. “I stayed by the doors, didn’t even close them all the way. It didn’t matter. I was trespassing.”

“I’m kinda surprised you made it off the property.” Lucy frowned. “Stupid question: the old door didn’t cut you, did it?”

Maggie hunched in on herself.

“Oh, shit. Please tell me it isn’t blood bound to you.” Lucy started to change the parameters of her search.

“I don’t know. The door I was holding up slipped out of my hand in a gust of wind. It hit my shoulder, but it didn’t get through my clothes…”

“Let’s see.” Lucy turned and waited for Maggie to move the collar of her shirt off her shoulder. “Fuck.”

The bruising was deep, almost black instead of blue. The worst part was the shape. It wasn’t a spot. It was a symbol.

“How screwed am I?” Maggie asked.

“Well, I know we’re gonna have a bigger problem than before. I don’t know blood magic. I’ve purposely avoided it. Fucking around with blood...doesn’t end well in the long run.”

“So I should just leave, and we shouldn’t even bother.”

“No.” Lucy tugged Maggie’s shirt back in place and turned Maggie’s chair to face her. “Just because I don’t know it, doesn’t mean I can’t learn.”

“You just said-”

“I said it was dangerous, not impossible. I’m not letting you go back out there where that thing is likely going to eat you, and not in the sexy fun way.”

There, that pretty pink blush. “But this is my problem. You shouldn’t have to deal with it.”

“Did you not hear me last night? You’re my new friend. Besides, you stepped onto the Kent farm. Your problems are now Clark’s problems, and he’s WAY more stubborn than me.”

Maggie was staring at her again, this time in disbelief.

“I swear if you go out there before I can help you, it won’t be the cops or your hitchhiker that you should be worried about. Got it?”

Maggie nodded.

“Good.” Lucy picked up Maggie’s dishes. “Ah! Dishes are my chore. You take over the Googling while I do this.”

Maggie sighed and tugged the laptop closer to her. “Were you this bossy before or after the ROTC boarding school?”

“These are all natural Lane genes, unfortunately for everyone who associates with us.”

“Fucking wonderful.”

Lucy grinned. “I am and do.”

“I’d groan in exasperation, but I think that might encourage you.”

“Only the best possible direction.” Lucy waited but got nothing. “Tease.”

Yes! Blush! Lucy was definitely going to find a way to keep Maggie around for the rest of the summer.

~

“Any luck?” Clark asked when he got home an hour later.

“Ha!” Lucy looked up from her laptop. “You’re going to have to tell your cousin and her sister what coyotes are.”

“That bad?”

“I’ve been marked,” Maggie said, her eyes watching Clark, every muscle in her body ready to flee. “It’s gotten my blood.”

Clark winced. “Neither Kara nor Alex are going to like this. They’re far too science minded to realize some things can’t be explained.”

Lucy shrugged. “Then we’ll just show them.”

“Um, I really don’t want to do that?”

“You may not have a choice.” Lucy put the laptop on the coffee table and tugged Maggie up. They went to the back door and opened it.

The air in the orchard twisted and churned into a black nest as the trees groaned. The knot of darkness roared across the field, shaking the land and screeching. Clark watched Maggie stumbled back in fear and could hear her heart racing as her stomach roiled. He could see the terror in Lucy’s eyes, too. But she raised a hand and kept her voice steady.

“Incendere!” A ball of fire flew out of her hand and sent the darkness reeling back. She shut the door and turned around to get Maggie back to the couch. “It wants Maggie’s tasty young soul.”

“M’not tasty,” Maggie muttered as she wrapped a blanket around herself.

Lucy smirked. “I’ll be the judge of that.”

“I don’t need to hear that from my girlfriend’s little sister,” Clark sighed as he watched the darkness dissipate in the orchard.

“You’re the one who interpreted it that way,” Lucy pointed out. “I have ideas, but they’re going to require a full moon, which is a week away, and your mom.”

“I am NOT asking my mother home while that thing is still around.”

“She’s the oldest living person of this land, Clark. Her blood and sweat have been poured into every inch of this farm. She needs to be here.” Lucy shrugged. “Besides, someone needs to take legal custody of Maggie.”

Maggie and Clark traded glances. “What?!”

“Did you forget that she’s technically a missing child?” Lucy asked Clark.

“What does that have to do with me gaining a little sister?”

“I am tiny, but I am fierce,” Maggie muttered from her blanket cocoon.

Lucy motioned to her. “See? She’ll fit right in!”

Clark pinched the bridge of his nose. “Is this what a headache feels like?”

Maggie, apparently, felt sorry for him. “The reason my dad kicked me out is that I asked my best friend to be my girlfriend.”

Clark frowned. “That’s a stupid reason to kick out anyone.”

“He said he came to this country to make a better life for his family. Then I went and ruined all his hard work by being something everyone hates.”

Clark sat on the coffee table in front of Maggie. “A tiny group of very loud mouths doesn’t like you, yes. But you ruined nothing. You’re proof that all his hard work paid off if you’re not only comfortable enough to recognize this about yourself, but you’re also brave enough to live that truth.”

Maggie rubbed at her eyes but refused to cry.

“And this is why I let you date my sister.”

Clark raised an eyebrow at Lucy. “Let me?”

“Lois can take care of herself, and we get along about as well as North and South Korea.” Lucy raised an eyebrow right back. “But if you EVER hurt my sister, I’m going to make sure everyone around you succeeds while you fall out of memory and become nothing but a mediocre man on a mediocre farm. Understood?”

Given the handful of displays of magic Clark had seen in the last twelve hours, he wasn’t going to challenge her. “Understood, Lucy. I still don’t know why I’m getting a sister.”

She rolled her eyes. “She can’t go back to Bigot Town, Nebraska, idiot. At least here, if anyone messes with the high school Queer Club, the principal makes ‘em sit through the faculty’s sensitivity training.”

“You can’t just adopt a missing child.”

“You can if their legal guardian agrees to it. Which, at this moment, is Maggie’s hard-working aunt.” Lucy shrugged. “I mean, if a U.S. Senator wanted to adopt a kicked out queer kid, give her better opportunities, get her out of bumfuck…”

Clark shook his head. “That mind of your’s is dangerous. I’ll call her.” He looked at Maggie. “I can’t promise anything, but if she’s up for it?”

Maggie was wide-eyed and still. Clark reached out, but paused, unsure if touch from a relatively strange man would be welcomed. Lucy had no such hesitance; she snuggled into Maggie’s side and wrapped an arm around her.

“Welcome to Smallville,” Lucy said. “Shit’s only gonna get weirder.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'all get this early since I have to WORK today instead of having off.

Maggie paced back and forth with the cordless phone in hand. Her shoulders dropped when Lucy focused on the project instead of the way Maggie’s hands were shaking. It was weird having a friend again. Sure, it hadn’t been a whole day, but Maggie had a feeling Lucy said only the things she meant to say. Besides, Lucy could’ve told and probably forced Maggie to leave by now.

Maggie took a deep breath and exhaled.

“Don’t hyperventilate,” Lucy drawled. She looked up. “On second thought, give me a reason to attempt mouth to mouth.”

Maggie was tempted to chuck the phone at Lucy’s head. The only reason she refrained was that the phone was Clark’s. “Why are you like this?”

“Mostly because the people it makes uncomfortable are the kind of people I don’t want to spend time with, and the people who stick around despite it tend to be more awesome in general.”

Maggie blinked. She wasn’t expecting a real answer.

Lucy grinned at her. “And you’re even cuter when you blush.”

Anyone else would’ve gotten the bird, but Maggie had a feeling Lucy would take that as an invitation. Instead, she headed for the kitchen. Lucy couldn’t target her if she weren’t in sight. After grabbing a glass of water, Maggie glared at the peaceful orchard and dialed her aunt’s house.

“Hello?”

“I’m fine if you’re alone,” Maggie said in a rush. “If you’re not alone I’m not on the line.”

Her aunt’s laugh was watery. “Oh, Margarita, do you honestly think anyone is here to comfort me?”

Maggie rubbed at her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“Are you really safe? Can you tell me why you left?”

“I...I didn’t want you to keep hurting yourself for me.” Maggie leaned back against the pantry and slid down the wooden door. “I know the doctor said you shouldn’t be on your feet so much and I know how much your back hurts after being at the diner all night, and you shouldn’t have to choose between keeping the fridge plugged in or not--”

Her aunt started to cry, which set Maggie off a moment later. “I’m so sorry you had to grow up so fast. I didn’t want these worries to be your worries, not on top of your own life.”

“At least I’ll get to leave high school. You...I keep taking from you-”

“You take nothing!” Her aunt’s sadness was gone. “What I give, I give because I love you! You are so strong, and so kind, even after everything those damn kids put you through, and I will always want to give you whatever I can!”

Maggie buried her head in her knees, her sobs echoing among the kitchen cabinets.

“Tell me where you are, Maggie, please. I won’t tell your father, you know I won’t. I will take you where you want to go if it means I can see you there safely.”

Maggie sniffled and tried to breathe. “It’s too late.”

“No, it’s not, it never is. Please, Maggie.”

“I tried to listen to uncle, I tried to follow the rules. There was a tornado, and I had to hide, but the cellar… You can’t come here, or it’ll hurt you, too.”

“I would rather hurt with you than know you’re hurting alone.”

Maggie felt her heart break. She suddenly understood why her aunt had been ready to be a full-time part of Maggie’s life: loneliness. After her uncle had died, Maggie made sure to go over her aunt’s once a week, but her aunt rarely visited. Maggie’s presence helped her aunt heal.

“Please, Maggie. Please.”

“Let me ask. It’s already going to be a full house tomorrow.” Maggie pushed herself up and headed back to the living room. She winced when she saw Clark on the couch next to Lucy, looking over the plan of attack. Bad enough Lucy heard her crying.

“Having a blood relative here will help with this,” Lucy said, not looking up.

“Your aunt can stay in my old room if you two don’t mind bunking with Kara and Alex,” Clark said. “I can grab an air mattress on my way to pick up Lois.”

“Mm, dorm life in a smaller bedroom,” Lucy muttered. “At least this time it’s worth it.”

Maggie took a deep breath. “What’s the address?” She repeated it to her aunt as Clark rattled it off. After a promise to stay put, Maggie hung up the phone.

Clark held out the box of tissues. Maggie took it and went to the bathroom to clean up her face. At least, this way, her aunt could dissuade Lucy of the crazy notion of giving Clark a little sister.

* * *

“Clark tells me you have a complicated plan,” Lois said as she sat next to her sister.

Maggie showed off her bruise. “There’s blood involved.”

Lois winced. “I haven’t lived here long, and I know that’s bad.”

“Yeah, why are you not freaking out about this, anyway?” Lucy asked. “This is not your thing, at all.”

Lois traded a look with Clark. “I can ignore all the weird and unusual things around me until it eventually kills me, or I can learn how to deal with it and not miss something important.” She looked back at Lucy. “I don’t like any of this. I wish I didn’t have to deal with it. But I’m not letting you run headlong into this alone.” She sighed. “Even if it would make my eye stop twitching.”

“Better my version of crazy than the General’s,” Lucy said. She took a deep breath. “Maggie’s Aunt Linda will be here in half an hour. She’s gonna anchor Maggie to this world as someone untouched by this demon but still connected to Maggie. Mrs. Kent will come home in two days for the weekend so I can use her connection to the land to get that thing off the farm.”

“And we have to keep Kara and Alex from learning about any of this?” Lois asked. “Or can their visit be put off until next week?”

Clark shook his head. “Eliza and Jeremiah can’t cancel their conference appearance.”

“I’m sorry,” Maggie murmured from where she was curled up in a corner.

“This isn’t your fault,” three voices said at once.

This time, it was Lois who shifted to sit in front of Maggie. “Look, you aren’t forcing us to deal with this. The three of us chose to be here, and we’re not backing out just because it’s out of our sphere of normal. Please believe me, if I didn’t want any part of this, I wouldn’t be here.”

Clark and Lucy were nodding eagerly from their positions, earning throw pillows chucked at their heads.

“I just don’t want anyone to get hurt because of me,” Maggie said. “And I won’t be able to repay your kindness.”

“Protecting others doesn’t mean you should hurt instead.” Lois considered Maggie for a moment. “Can you cook?”

Maggie nodded. “And I’m really good at it.”

Lois offered her hand. “Then let’s see if you can whip up dinner before your aunt gets here.”

Maggie took her offered hand, and they headed into the kitchen.

Lucy looked at Clark. “You really don’t deserve her.”

“I heard that!” Lois called back.

Clark shrugged. “I really don’t.”

* * *

The sun had just touched the horizon when a car puttered up the driveway. Clark went out to greet Maggie’s aunt. Lucy hung out in the doorway, ready to fire off a shield spell. She never thought she would have real, life-saving use for her magic, to be honest. It had been fun to have books out and scrawl runes on things to piss off the General. Only when he took action against her did she really attempt something.

Lucy may have initially used her magic to keep other cadets out of her dorm room, but now she was thinking of so many different ways she could use her quickly growing powers.

“Hello, Mrs. Sawyer,” Clark said as he headed down the steps to help with the two small suitcases. “I’m Clark Kent.”

“Please, call me Linda.” She shook his offered hand in both of hers. “Thank you so much for helping Maggie.”

“You’re welcome.” He motioned her up to the house while carrying the bags. “This is Lucy Lane, she’s the one who initially found Maggie.”

“Maggie found me,” Lucy said, holding the door open for the woman. “Ran right into the barn and interrupted my rant to Tabby the mouser.”

Linda Sawyer was a tanned, solidly built woman who definitely knew what hard work was. Her hair wasn’t yet greying, but it was lighter at her temples than the tail down her back. Her eyes were dark and deep, and Lucy could see the relation between her and Maggie.

The moment Linda was inside, she was tackled by Maggie who started to babble a dozen apologies. Clark nudged Lucy towards the kitchen, leaving the small suitcases by the stairs. Lucy poked at the pans on the stove, investigating the delicious smells she’d been ignoring in favor of finishing up her plan. Lois must have been tired because she didn’t make one move to bat Lucy away from the food.

“Do you think we can convince them to move to Smallville?” Lucy asked as she stole another bite of chicken.

“You’re not even going to be here for the school year,” Lois pointed out.

“Don’t remind me. But it’ll be the next best thing to Clark getting a lil sister.”

He gave her a bemused look. “You do realize there’s a reason I asked someone else to take care of my cousin instead of my mom, right?”

Lucy waved him off. “Stop talking logic, it’s no fun.”

Maggie and Linda came into the kitchen, and Linda started to praise Maggie for her skills with the food. Maggie’s eyes were bright with tears, and she was tucked firmly under her aunt’s arm. Lucy was relieved Maggie had someone in her corner; for all she and Lois didn’t get along, at least Lois didn’t bat an eye at Lucy’s bisexuality.

Once everyone was at the table, Maggie explained how, exactly, she had picked up a hitchhiker and all she had done to avoid being consumed by it before reaching the Kent farm. Linda was both proud of Maggie’s resourcefulness and horrified that she had to face such a journey alone.

Once they were done eating, Linda asked, “You will not go back to Blue Springs once this is dealt with, yes?”

Lucy started to clean up the dishes, but she paid attention in case she needed to jump in and defend Maggie.

“I really, really don’t want to go back there.”

“Then we won’t.” The simple statement caught everyone off guard. “There are other places for us to live, Maggie, though getting there won’t be easy.”

Clark cleared his throat. “I happen to know a few places for rent and their landlords. A few people left after the second meteor shower a couple years ago.”

Lucy appeared at Maggie’s said. “Please stay in Smallville, so I have someone other than my sister to visit?”

Maggie rolled her eyes but looked to her aunt.

“It’s a possibility,” Linda said. “One thing at a time, though.”

Lucy hurried and finished stacking the dishes in and around the sink. “I do have a plan, but please remember I’ve never dealt with this before and have no idea who to contact about getting help with it.”

“I am sure, as the one who will be wielding the magic,” Linda said, “that you will do your best.” It wasn’t a threat, just an observation.

They sat down around the coffee table. Lucy took a deep breath, looked over at Maggie, and winked. Okay, the blush was still there. Lucy could do this.

After the explanation of how, exactly, they were going to save Maggie, Linda said the unexpected.

“I wish to see it.”

Lucy and Maggie traded looks. Lucy shrugged. “It’s up to you.”

Maggie nodded and headed for the back door.

The apple trees groaned in the distance.

Linda stood next to Maggie while Lucy opened the door. The roar was probably giving all the animals in the barn some kind of complex. The twisted knot of darkness was bigger at night. It was no longer human-sized. It almost reached the window of the loft. The floodlights aimed away from the house seemed to dim as it barreled closer.

The Lord’s Prayer fell from Linda’s lips while Lucy sent another fireball at it. Maggie slammed the back door shut. The trees in the orchard groaned. Maggie looked back at her aunt. All Linda could do was hold Maggie close. But as far as Lucy could tell, it was enough.


	4. Chapter 4

Lucy and Maggie did one more sweep of the kitchen, living room, and the bedroom they shared. Once they were sure it was free of all their research and planning, they sat down on the couch with a sigh.

Outside, Linda laughed at something Clark had said.

“I’m so glad it won’t go after her,” Maggie said, picking at the hem of her shirt.

“Fortunately for her, these things tend to hyper-focus on their initial target.” Lucy looked over at her. “How’s your shoulder?”

“Doesn’t hurt more than usual.” She shrugged. “Aches a lot, but I’ve had worse.”

Lucy’s hands fisted.

“Not like that.” Maggie sighed. “The kids at school don’t know. All they know is Eliza stopped being my friend. She took all our other friends with her, but I don’t know what she told them. Not the truth, though. Probably to protect herself, I think.”

“So how have you had worse?”

“I grew up in the middle of nowhere, Lucy. I got all kinds of beat up tripping over gopher holes and falling out of trees.” She showed Lucy a scar on her elbow. “I got that over winter break trying to be a badass ice skater.”

Lucy pulled up her leg to show off one of her scars. It’d be a way to pass the time, at least. And, besides, chicks dug scars.

~

Maggie hung back in the kitchen with her aunt as the Danvers family invaded the house. The two adults left after five minutes, wanting to get to their destination before midnight. Kara was quick to latch onto Clark and started talking to him a mile a minute. He took her out back to get some work done and burn off some energy. Lucy helped Alex get their bags to the bedroom before dragging the sullen teenager to the kitchen.

“This is Maggie, my new best friend, and her Aunt Linda. They’re staying with us for a bit.”

Alex’s smile was small and her wave even smaller.

Maggie decided she needed to know where she stood with the emo girl. “My dad kicked me out for wanting to kiss girls. I decided to run away, ended up here, and now my aunt is trying to figure out what our next move is.”

Alex blinked. “That’s shi- Sorry, that sucks.”

Aunt Linda waved Alex off. “I don’t mind if the swear word fits the situation. Just not every other word, please. There are far more creative ways to insult a person or situation besides swearing.”

Alex nodded. “Got it.”

Lucy reached over the counter and stole a piece of meat. “Lunch smells amazing. What is it? Can we help?”

Lucy was instantly assigned the task of dicing a few tomatoes while Aunt Linda launched into the tale of how Maggie tried to burn the kitchen down making it for the first time. Alex had frowned at Lucy for including her in the offer to help but seemed content to shred lettuce leaves into tiny pieces.

When the food was ready, Clark and Kara appeared to take a plate before heading back out to sit on a fence and continue their conversation. Maggie watched as her Aunt slowly coaxed Alex into opening up. Maggie had heard just how many times Alex had been ordered by her parents to keep Kara in line and safe. It probably sucked to be held responsible for another kid when there were actual adults around.

It took Lucy fifteen minutes to start a debate with Alex over bands Maggie had never heard of. While they agreed one was the best, they were at odds when it came to all others. When they asked her opinion, Maggie shook her head.

“I have no idea what you two are talking about.”

Alex didn’t seem bothered by it because she probably understood people had different tastes in music.

Lucy, however, was appalled. “Alex, do you have decent samples of your music?”

“It’s all decent, thanks. But, yes, on my laptop.”

“Excellent. After I get these dishes done, we’re converting Maggie to punk rock.” She collected the plates while Maggie refilled glasses.

Aunt Linda got up and took the cordless phone with her, saying she was going to make a few calls concerning new places to live. Alex dashed off and returned with her laptop, settling on the couch next to Maggie.

Maggie grinned. “Are you trying to convince me before Lucy has a chance?”

“I won’t need to do anything,” Alex said as she opened her music library. “The music will do all the convincing for me.”

Maggie settled back and listened. Lucy started calling Alex a dirty cheater from the kitchen. Alex just smirked and turned up the volume.

~

Maggie sat across from her aunt on the bed, glancing at all the notes spread between them. “I can help you with this tomorrow. I’m sorry I didn’t ask after lunch.”

“I think Alex needs your friendship more than you need to worry about this.”

“But this is all my fault.”

“No.” Aunt Linda reached over the papers and held Maggie’s hands. “This is your father’s doing. If he loved you for being a good person, instead of focusing on the one harmless thing he disagrees with, then we would not be here.”

Maggie nodded and didn’t argue.

“Now. Moving here is possible if that’s what you would like to do.” Aunt Linda released Maggie’s hands to move two sheets of paper closer to Maggie. “Metropolis is also an option, though I would need you to get a weekend job to help make ends meet.”

“I think I would still want a job even if we were just here,” Maggie said. “It feels weird being sixteen and asking you for candy money.”

“But I like to know what you’re eating.” Aunt Linda grinned. “Then I know if you’re ruining your dinner.”

Maggie rolled her eyes. “Like I’m ever not going to eat your cooking.” She looked at the list of addresses and the newspaper page with a handful of job listings. “Are you sure, Aunt Linda? I know what I did was stupid. I’ll go back and stay put.”

“Margarita, you know I don’t say things I don’t mean.”

“Unless you’re trying to keep Christmas presents from me.”

Aunt Linda tisked at her. “Maybe if you had any kind of patience, I wouldn’t have to lie about those.” She retook Maggie’s hands. “You ran away to protect yourself. Staying in a town where you couldn’t be yourself was suffocating you. You walked around with the fear of what your parents would do next. I’m not going to ask you to go back to a place that will do you more harm than good in the long run.”

Maggie climbed over the papers and leaned against her aunt, wrapping her in a hug. “I love you, Aunt Linda.” She didn’t care that her voice cracked a little. She didn’t care if a few tears slipped out of her eyes. Her aunt would rather see her emotions than not.

“I love you, too, Maggie, so, so much.” She squeezed Maggie tight for a long minute.

Maggie leaned back and rubbed at her eyes. “I want to change my name.”

Aunt Linda reached over to grabbed a box of tissues off the bedside table. “Did Lucy rope Alex into teasing you about margaritas being delicious? I honestly don’t think you’ll have to worry about that from anyone besides Lucy.”

Maggie’s laugh was quick and loud. “No, and I think that confused Alex a LOT.” She bit her lip and worried it for a moment. “I wanna be a Sawyer.”

Oh, look, now Aunt Linda was tearing up.

Maggie hurried to explain. “It’s just, I learned so much from Uncle Adam, and you’ve been the most amazing Aunt ever, and I don’t know, maybe I'm just selfish because I wanna belong to you since you actually care about me and-”

Aunt Linda was hugging her again, harder and tighter than before. “Of course, Maggie. I would be so happy to call you mine, and I’m sure Adam is proud of you as well.” She kissed the top of Maggie’s head. “As soon as we can, we’ll change your name, okay?”

Maggie nodded. For the first time in a very long time, Maggie had no urge to be anywhere but where she was.

~

It was clear to Maggie and Lucy that the Danvers sisters were not the best of friends. They didn’t really talk to each other outside of necessity, and they had no interest in spending time together outside of meals and sleeping. Fortunately, Kara was content to spend her time following Clark around or just being outside. Lucy and Maggie were far more content to sit on a bed or couch with Alex and talk about anything that came to mind.

Maggie might have been willing to wander around with Kara if she didn’t have something trying to kill her. Maggie had no problem being out in the countryside, and she had a feeling Kara would be a sponge for all the information Maggie grew up learning. It was just...Kara was far, far too hyper for Maggie.

Alex was more Maggie’s speed. And maybe Maggie liked the way Lucy was trying to make Alex blush. It was a lot more fun when Lucy’s teasing was aimed at someone else.

“AlexMaggieLucy we’re gonna bike to the store do you guys want anything?” Kara asked as she hurried down the stairs.

“Bicycling is so nerdy, Clark,” Lucy told him as he emerged from the kitchen.

He pocketed a list from Aunt Linda. “Well, it’s a good thing I don’t mind being a nerd.”

“Can I have a gallon of chocolate milk?” Alex asked. “I can help outside to pay you back?”

Clark shook his head. “A gallon of milk is nothing, Alex, don’t worry about it. Lucy? Maggie?”

Lucy wanted a bag of cheesy puffs, and Maggie asked for ice cream. Clark led the way out, warning Kara he hadn’t ridden a bike in years.

“Does she EVER run out of energy?” Lucy asked Alex.

“She’s solar powered,” Alex muttered. “Which is annoying as fuck living in California.”

Lucy snorted. “I bet.” She stood up. “Either you want water while I’m in the kitchen?”

Kara raced back inside and up to the bedroom before returning with a jacket flying behind her. Maggie rolled her eyes as Kara ran outside. The screen door slammed shut hard enough that it bounced back open. She got up to close it before mosquitos and flies could make themselves at home.

Lucy entered the living room too late. “Maggie! No!”

The moment Maggie stuck her hand outside, she screamed. Itchy black ropes wrapped around her wrist and yanked. Her fingers went numb.

“Margarita!” Linda ran into the room and wrapped her arms around her struggling niece. She started to say the first thing that came to mind. “Our Father who art in Heaven. Hallowed be thy name-”

The roiling black mass roared just outside the door. Maggie flinched. Lucy chanted off the top of her head, having already memorized the protection spell she used most often.

Behind Lucy, Alex stared in horror and awe. In the driveway, Clark was racing back with Kara right behind him.

There was a low pitched crack.

Maggie felt her heart stop.

Linda hauled her niece inside.

They all watched in horror as the darkness seeped into the doorframe.

Lucy launched herself at Maggie when she saw blood. “Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!” The bite mark on Maggie’s wrist wasn’t deep, but it wasn’t bleeding beyond her skin, and that was even worse. Something was keeping it in, and it wasn’t her magic. “Clark, go to a church and get holy water. Now!”

He was gone a moment later, Kara on his heels.

Lucy pointed at Alex. “Every candle in the kitchen you can find, do not go through the rest of the house!”

She nodded and started to rummage through the drawers.

Lucy held Maggie’s face in her hands. “I swear by every god that has ever and will ever exist, if you make any attempt to apologize, your new name will be Ariel cause I’ll steal your voice.”

Maggie hiccuped a laugh. “But then I won’ be able to say your name.”

Linda started to mutter about being too old for the antics of teenagers.

Alex brought back every tapered candle, birthday candle, and tea light she could find. “Why not the rest of the house?” She yanked the lighters and matches she also found out of her pockets.

“Because you have to go into halls untouched by natural light.” Lucy set aside the tapered candles and started to position the tea lights. “Fire will let us get into other rooms. Hopefully.”

Maggie looked away from her wrist and distracted herself with Alex. “You’re not confused.”

Alex shrugged. “My parents are scientists, but I spent a lot of my free time surfing with, uh, more spiritual people.” She went to the other side of the table when Lucy motioned at her. “I don’t turn my back to the water, and I’ve had to tell Kara to leave the pretty leather jackets in the woods along the shore alone.”

“I don’t know that one,” Lucy said as she carved runes into the tea lights.

“Selkies hide their skins so they can go back to the sea,” Alex said. “I haven’t told Kara that part.”

Lucy looked at Aunt Linda, who nodded at her. “In that case… There are things out here, too. Some of them are more trickster than mean, and some things want you dead.”

“I had to hide in an abandoned storm cellar,” Maggie said, voice shaking from the pain in her wrist. “It was that or stay outside while a tornado blew through. That thing got a taste of my blood when the door fell on my shoulder.”

Alex’s eyes went wide. “And things that taste your blood never stop hunting you.”

Lucy stared at Alex for a moment. “What the FUCK is going on in California?”

Alex shook her head. “That’s just sharks, really. But it probably applies to other things I haven’t heard of yet.”

Lucy laid Maggie’s arm on the table and circled the candles around her hand and the bite wound. She muttered a word for fire, holding the ball of flames above her as she ran into the kitchen.

“Holy shit.” Alex stared at Lucy. “That’s cool.”

“Hot, Alex,” Lucy corrected as she returned with a bag of salt. “I’m hot. Everything I do is hot.”

“Except drool in your sleep.”

Lucy started to ring the salt around the four of them. “At least I didn’t drool on you.” Once the circle was closed, she sat down across from Alex. “Aunt Linda, sit behind Maggie, please.” She handed her open notebook to Alex. “You know science. Can you speak that bit of Latin without fucking it up?”

Alex silently mouthed the words. “Got it.”

Lucy picked up a long-nosed lighter and clicked it to make sure it worked. “Maggie, focus on each flame as I light them. That’s all you have to do. Focus on the light, focus on the fire. Can you do that for us?”

Maggie nodded, the movement making her dizzy.

“Okay. Good.” Lucy looked at Alex. “No screaming until we’re done.”

Alex swallowed. “Bet this wasn’t the context you wanted to say that to me.”

Lucy laughed. The sound made Maggie feel better. “I was wondering if you were catching on.”

“I’m not used to it.” Alex blushed. “Your sister asked me if she needed to tell you to stop.”

The stairs creaked. The quartet around the table were the only ones home.

“Right,” Lucy said. “Stop the evil thing in Maggie’s blood, then flirt with the cute girl. Priorities, Lane, those, at least, have to be straight.”

Maggie thought she giggled, but she couldn’t tell. Everything was dim and fuzzy.

Alex started to speak Latin. Lucy lit the first candle. Maggie tried to focus.

Instead, Maggie screamed.


	5. Chapter 5

If there was one thing about the military academy Lucy was grateful for, it was how she learned to not panic. This was one of the top five most terrifying moments in her life. Her heart was racing, and her hands were shaking.

She wasn’t the only one.

Alex’s voice was cracking. She had gone pale, and the notebook in her hands shook. But she kept reading, eyes focused on the words, never darting over to Lucy or Maggie.

Maggie was being held down by Aunt Linda. Tears were streaming down Maggie’s face, and she was begging them to stop, telling them it hurt too much. Aunt Linda was holding Maggie’s bitten arm down, her other arm wrapped tight around Maggie’s shaking body. Aunt Linda looked determined; her eyes were wide, but she wasn’t letting her fear rule her.

Lucy glared up at the darkness trying to creep down from the shadows in the ceiling. She pointed the lit lighter up. “ _Im-a sheng-ab_!”

The air between them and the shifting shadow shimmered like a hot road in the distance. The darkness screeched and retreated.

Lucy put the lighter down and took her notebook from Alex once she was done with the Latin. It obviously didn’t work. She flipped a few pages over and pointed to a spell before handing it back. Lucy then summoned a ball of blue flame. She spread her fingers wide and settled her hand centimeters above the bite wound. The fire wouldn’t burn her or Maggie’s skin, but this was gonna hurt Maggie no matter what.

“Aunt Linda, join in on the second round if you can,” Lucy said. “Maggie, stare at the nice blue painful ball of fire, okay?”

Maggie sobbed but nodded.

“Ready, Alex?” When Lucy got a nod, she started the spell.

“ _I call to thee, pure witch’s fire,_  
_Through vortex flow the heavenly mire._  
_Cleanse brackish aura of debris,_  
_From dark to light, sweep history._ ”

The wound on Maggie’s wrist boiled. Lucy wished she didn’t have to hurt Maggie to get this to work.

Aunt Linda joined in the second time around. The walls around them creaked. The floor around them groaned. Lucy could feel something burning in the ball of fire in her hand. It made her palm itch.

The door slammed open.

Lucy looked behind her and held her free arm out over the salt circle. Clark had the bottle of holy water in her hand a moment later. Lucy flipped the lid open and doused Maggie’s arm even as they continued to chant.

Maggie sagged, seeming to faint. Lucy glanced down and saw nothing left of the bite. She curled her fingers together, dousing the fire in her hand.

Aunt Linda tilted Maggie’s head up and back against her shoulder. “Clark, go cover all the mirrors.”

He didn’t hesitate to obey.

Lucy put the candles out in the reverse order of how she lit them. Kara was next to Alex, wrapping her shivering sister in a hug. Lucy leaned against the table, exhaustion sinking into her bones.

“I don’ like how you play with fire,” Maggie muttered.

Lucy managed to laugh, just a little. “We’ll try it your way in a few days.”

“Oh, no, you won’t,” Aunt Linda chided lightly. She looked at Lucy. “This one was banned from building the campfire at Girl Scout camp after she started a twenty-foot bonfire.”

Alex and Lucy perked up. “Me, too!” they said at the same time.

Maggie grinned. “See, Aun’ Linda, now we have to have a competition.”

“The only competition you three will be having,” Aunt Linda said as she shifted Maggie in her hold, “is a sleeping one. The three of you need to rest.”

“I don’t think I can sleep knowing it’s in the house,” Alex admitted, looking around.

“I don’t think our bodies are going to give us much choice,” Lucy said as she shifted onto the couch.

“What do we need to do to prepare?” Clark asked as he returned.

Lucy yawned and wrapped an arm around Maggie when Aunt Linda put her on the couch. “Turn on all the lights. Candle in all the windows. Light the fireplace. Don’ let it get dark.”

Alex curled up on the other side of the couch, slipping her toes under Maggie’s leg. “Kara, stay inside, okay?”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Kara said, picking up the candles and matches.

Aunt Linda put a hand on Lucy’s shoulder. “Thank you, Lucy.”

“Of course.” Lucy couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. “Maggie’s too pretty to let anything bad happen to her.” The last thing she heard was Alex snorting and Aunt Linda chuckling in amusement.

~

Maggie woke up screaming.

The moment light filled her eyes and the scent of her aunt’s shampoo filled her nose, Maggie stopped screaming. Aunt Linda had a hold of her hands, knuckles white from holding onto Maggie. On one side, Alex was hugging Maggie’s legs. On her other side, a massive ball of blue fire hovered between her and Lucy.

“Sorry,” Maggie croaked out.

“Hush,” Aunt Linda said as she pulled Maggie into a hug. “Are you okay?”

Maggie shrugged as she returned the embrace. “I don’t remember it, I just feel afraid.”

“Darkness was wrapping around you,” Kara said from where she was standing behind Alex. “It looked like it was pulling you under the couch.”

Maggie shivered. “That’s fucking terrifying.”

Aunt Linda chuckled. “Yes, yes it is. Looks like we’ll have to put the bed on the floor, or move the air mattress out into an open room.”

Lucy killed the ball of fire. “I don’t think we can wait for the full moon at this rate.” She looked at Clark. “Your mom comes home tomorrow, right?”

Clark nodded. “She’ll be here around eleven in the morning.”

“Perfect. We can do this at true noon.” Lucy grinned at her sister coming out of the kitchen. “Welcome to hell.”

Lois rolled her eyes. “All of you would wake up in time for dinner.”

Four stomachs gurgled in unison. Aunt Linda laughed and stood, helping Maggie off the couch. Maggie paused and turned bright red.

“What’s wrong?” Lucy asked, immediately checking Maggie for injuries.

Maggie ducked her head, then glanced up at her aunt. “I need to pee.”

“We’ve already figured that out,” Aunt Linda said. “And now that we know it will attack you from any shadow, we can prepare for that.”

Maggie followed her aunt down the hall. Though the lights were on, a large fire-lit lamp was held low at their legs. With light from above and below, there were even fewer shadows. The cabinets in the bathroom were opened, and Maggie took the lamp into the room with her. With the door only half closed, her aunt sung a hymn.

The song made the mark on Maggie’s shoulder ache. She supposed that meant the singing was working.

When Maggie was done, she and Aunt Linda joined the others in the kitchen. All the cabinets were open to reveal small glow sticks littered among the shelves. Maggie grinned a little; it was clever, and it was working. The lamp went under the kitchen table as they all sat around it.

“So. I have a question.” Maggie twirled her fork in her pasta, unsure about her place in voicing her curiosity. “I was pretty out of it earlier, but I, uh, kinda noticed something.”

The way everyone was trading a look, besides Aunt Linda, told Maggie everyone was in on the secret.

Maggie glanced at Clark. “You guys got back really, really quickly. Like, there’s no way you drove to a church, asked for holy water, and drove back as quick as you did.”

Clark cleared his throat. “It’s a bit much to take in. Let’s get you figured out first, okay? Then we can talk.”

Maggie noticed the way Lucy was narrowing her eyes at her sister. Okay, maybe not everyone was in the know. “I guess.” She nudged Lucy’s shin with her toes. “What do you think? Cornfield demon or alien?”

Clark, Lois, and Alex almost choked in surprise.

Lucy eyed the cousins. “Given they both arrived the same years as the meteor showers, I’m going with aliens.”

Alex looked a little pale. Kara was trying to take her cues from an amused Clark instead of her clearly terrified sister. Lois was just exasperated.

“Girls, it’s not polite to speak of people like they’re not in the room,” Aunt Linda said.

“Sooooo we wait until we’re not in the same room?” Lucy asked.

Aunt Linda nodded. “Or speak a language they don’t understand while doing a menial task.”

Lucy grinned. “Are you adopting? Cause I will do any chore you ask of me if it means learning your ways.”

“What is with you and adoption?” Lois demanded.

“I’m a witch with a bigot for a male legal guardian who goes to a boarding school and is currently dealing with a soul-eating demon on summer break.” Lucy raised an eyebrow at her sister. “What part of this isn’t a Harry Potter book?”

“The part where you’re missing a key facial scar.”

Lucy looked over at Alex. “Notice how she doesn’t say, “having a sister that loves you.”

Alex just rolled her eyes and went back to eating.

After dinner, Maggie helped Lucy clean up while Kara and Alex almost started a war moving mattresses into the living room. Aunt Linda got them to calm down and actually work together, so Maggie didn’t offer to switch places with Alex. Lois had decided that since there was now a demon dependent on shadows in the house, they were all going to sleep in the same room and take turns keeping watch.

“And we’re actually going to get some sleep,” Lois told the four teenagers before they could plan out a night of shenanigans. “None of you are going to keep watch alone.”

“You realize I’m old enough to join up with the General’s consent, right?” Lucy asked her sister.

“That doesn’t make you a responsible adult, that makes you cannon fodder.”

Lucy conceded the point. Clark volunteered to take the first and last shifts, one with Kara and one with Alex. Lois wanted the second shift with Lucy since it would be the one that clocked through true midnight. Maggie and Aunt Linda agreed to the third shift. Clark found playing cards and a handful of two player board games, as well as a puzzle.

Maggie wanted to apologize for causing so much hassle. She knew if she started they wouldn’t give her a chance to finish. They would remind her of all this being their choice. Well, Alex and Kara were sorta dumped into it, but Clark had given them an option to get away from the insanity over dinner. They were determined to stick around help as much as they could.

So, with a fire and the summer heat to keep them warm, Maggie pressed back to back against Lucy under a thin white sheet. On the air mattress next to her, Alex passed over a glow stick with a grin.

“These are the best idea Kara’s ever had,” Alex said.

Kara tossed a pillow at Alex’s head from where she and Clark were sitting at the coffee table. Maggie grinned back and wrapped her hand around the bright green light. The house around them creaked, and there was a brief rattle of game pieces being set up. Maggie knew she should be terrified. Instead, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Im-a sheng-ab.” Sumerian words for "Boil the air." -Buffy  
> The rhyming spell is from Charmed


	6. Chapter 6

Maggie shivered. Everything was fuzzy. She tried to yawn to pop her ears. Fear crawled up her throat; she was barely able to breathe.

“Maggie!” The yell sounded so far away. The voice wasn't familiar.

Who was yelling at her? Why couldn’t she breathe?

Lucy felt lightheaded with panic. Maggie was disappearing. Even after tugging the sheet off Maggie, all the light in the room couldn’t stop the darkness from creeping over her. Lucy had no idea how to help Maggie.

Alex held Lucy’s notebook in front of the two of them. “Will this help?”

Lucy looked down at the spell. “It can’t hurt.”

Alex grabbed Kara and tugged her over. “I need you to believe anything is possible for two minutes.”

“Maggie’s disappearing because of a shadow monster.” Kara’s voice was shaking. “I think I can do that.”

 _“Two warring souls now burn inside,_  
_where only one can reside._  
_I call upon the Power of Three,_  
_to save the body and set Maggie free.”_

On the mattress, Maggie flinched. Aunt Linda reached for her, but her hand slipped through Maggie’s arm. Lucy, Alex, and Kara repeated the spell again. This time, Maggie’s hand went to her own shoulder, trying to reach the bruise. Lucy slid her fingers together with Alex’s as they said the spell one more time.

Maggie solidified as she shoved herself up, gasping for air. Aunt Linda hugged her tight. Lucy leaned against Alex in exhaustion. Kara was staring at the sweat she had wiped off her forehead.

“I know what this is.” Everyone focused on Aunt Linda. She carded her fingers through Maggie’s hair. “I’ve never seen it myself, but I’ve heard the stories. It followed you so far, after you passed through other fields, after you crossed so many other barriers. It marked you.” She pressed a kiss to the top of Maggie’s head.

“What is it?” Maggie asked. “Do you know how to stop it?”

“This darkness came to you at the most terrifying moment of your journey,” Aunt Linda said. “You were alone, afraid of the tornado, hiding in a place you knew wouldn’t keep you safe. Maggie, I’m so sorry.”

“What is it, Aunt Linda?”

“This darkness clings to you because it IS you. Maggie, this is your every fear given life.”

Maggie promptly went catatonic at the realization she was responsible for all of this.

Lucy, however, sat up as her thoughts started to whirl. “We know what this is now. Which means I can create the best way of helping Maggie.”

~

Alex flexed her hand, and Kara loosened her grip. She cracked an eye open and looked over at Maggie. Exhaustion had finally caught up to Maggie, and she had passed out. Alex sighed in relief. As terrified as Maggie had been a few hours ago, she needed her sleep. Lifting her head, Alex checked Maggie’s other side. Lucy was drooling on her pillow, glow sticks piled between her and Maggie.

Lois came over to check on them. “There’s food, Alex, if you’re hungry.”

Alex nodded and grinned as Kara took off for the kitchen. “In a little bit.”

Lois squeezed her shoulder and headed back to the table. Alex shifted closer to Maggie since Kara was no longer keeping her warm. The house creaked, and Alex laced her fingers with Maggie’s to keep her in the right world.

After Maggie almost disappeared, Lucy had gotten to work refining her ceremony of freeing Maggie from the darkness. Alex and Kara had huddled against Maggie’s side while Aunt Linda made hot chocolate using a special cocoa powder she had brought from Blue Springs. Lois and Clark managed to pass out again, but they needed the rest to keep up the facade that everything was okay.

Alex had a feeling, if Maggie and Aunt Linda stayed in Smallville, she and Kara would be spending school breaks in Kansas. Part of Alex would miss going to the beach every day. But there was a chance they could convince her parents to have Maggie visit for a week. There was no way they weren’t going to be friends after all this.

Besides, Alex had to continue Maggie’s musical education. Lucy could NOT be allowed to corrupt Maggie.

Kara returned with a plate of toast and eggs, sitting on the floor instead of disrupting the air mattress. Alex rolled onto her stomach and took the plate with a quiet thanks.

“Eliza told me Halloween wasn’t real,” Kara whispered.

“Mom needs quantifiable, reproducible evidence. Magic can’t give her that, so it can’t be real.”

“Well, she _is_ a scientist and those two things kinda define science.” Kara watched Maggie snuffle and shift. “Clark says he’s heard a few things in the middle of the night, but nothing like this.”

“Maggie says around here the things that can’t be explained are called coyotes.”

“Is there anything back in Midvale like this?”

Alex chewed on her food for a bit. “You remember that one day we found that really nice leather jacket at the far end of the beach? In the woods?” When Kara nodded, she said, “That was a selkie skin.”

Kara zoomed off and returned with Alex’s laptop. Alex glanced over at the kitchen to make sure Aunt Linda hadn’t seen Kara move so quickly. When she looked back at Kara, a search was already running.

Alex poked Kara in the ear. “Stop memorizing my password.”

“I don’t use my powers for evil.” She read through the first few paragraphs on Wikipedia. “What else is there?”

Alex traded the plate for the laptop and opened a handful of tabs. She loaded the myths she knew. They were all related to the ocean since she heard them all from older surfers. Alex couldn’t wait to get back to Midvale if only to tell them about the crazy shit that happened in the midwest.

Maggie whined, and Alex handed Kara the laptop. Alex squeezed one of Maggie’s hands. “Stay with us, Maggie. We still need to have our bonfire competition.”

Maggie stopped frowning, and her breathing evened out. Alex relaxed and made grabby hands for her food. Kara absently handed it over as she read through the myths.

After dreading a dull week at the farm, Alex was glad Lucy and Maggie were here. Even if life was terrifying at the moment, at least it was interesting.

~

Maggie woke up late in the morning. On one side of her, Lucy was finishing up a circle of runes on a piece of paper. To her right, Alex was leaning over the edge of the bed and typing quickly on her laptop on the floor. Maggie lifted her head and froze.  
In the kitchen, her aunt was talking to Mrs. Kent. Maggie suddenly realized why the name was nagging at her. Mrs. Kent was a U.S. Senator.

Well, shit.

Lucy snorted, and Maggie realized she had said that out loud. “There aren’t any leftovers, but you’ve got some time before true noon.”

Maggie stretched, swatting Lucy when she whistled. “Does true noon even matter since this isn’t some kind of otherworldly darkness?”

“If your life was hanging in the balance, then no.” Lucy shrugged. “But the more light, the more power.”

“We don’t even know if I can leave the house.”

“That matters a little less.” Lucy waved above her head. “The sun will give us what we need.”

Maggie decided Lucy knew what she was talking about. After climbing over Alex to get out of the bed, Maggie shuffled into the kitchen and started to make a sandwich. Aunt Linda waited until Maggie was seated at the table before introducing her to Mrs. Kent.

Maggie, of course, tripped over her thoughts. “I’m sorry for stealing your apples.”

The table and chairs rattled, and Maggie watched in horrific fascination as her hands started to lose definition. So that’s what fading away looked like.

Warm hands managed to find Maggie’s. “Well, that’s a tell.”

Maggie watched as her hands snapped back into reality. They tingled as the blood rushed back into them. “Wha…”

“I once read that fear is the mind-killer.” Mrs. Kent released Maggie’s hands and motioned for her to eat. “You were afraid of how I would react to hearing you took some apples. Now, being afraid and having doubts, those are perfectly normal. I think, in this instance, your subconscious is taking it a little too far.”

Maggie swallowed her bite of food. “Wishing the ground would open up and swallow me to get away from the situation?”

“Exactly. Fortunately, it seems a Lane is involved.” She looked over at Lucy. “They seem to be a tenacious family. If Lucy says she can help you, I’m going to believe her.”

So far, Lucy had been amazingly helpful. Maggie nodded in agreement and took another bite of food. The two adults went back to talking about some lousy winter Maggie hadn’t even been alive for, letting her eat in peace. Once she cleaned her plate, Maggie crawled back between Alex and Lucy. It was weird and relieving how they made her feel safe.

Lucy reached over the side of the air mattress and tossed something on Maggie’s face. “I need access to your shoulder. Change into that.”

Maggie lifted up the piece of fabric. “Lucy. This is a crop top.”

“Or you could wear a towel.”

“I’ve never worn a crop top.”

“What better occasion than saving you from yourself.” Lucy frowned. “Wait. Does this mean you have an epic farmer’s tan?”

Maggie rolled over, putting her back to Lucy. She slung one arm over Alex’s back. “I like you best.”

Alex grinned and said nothing. If she was blushing a little, well, Maggie decided she could be pleased with that reaction.


	7. Chapter 7

“What if this doesn’t work?” Maggie quietly asked Lucy. Only Alex was in earshot; everyone else was spread through the house spraying holy water in all the dark spaces.

Lucy didn’t stop tracing the sigils through the paper onto Maggie’s skin around the bruise. “Then I try something else.”

“Is there even something else to try?”

“Great thing about magic: there’s always another way of doing something. This is just the, uh, least painful.”

“What’s the painful way?”

“Bloodletting.” Lucy’s voice was far too nonchalant for Maggie.

Alex wrinkled her nose. “That’s messy and also unsanitary.”

“Gloves exist.” Lucy slowly peeled the paper circle off of Maggie. “Besides, this’ll work.”

Maggie looked over her shoulder. “How can you be so sure?”

“Doing magic means being absolutely certain of anything I do.” Lucy motioned for Maggie to turn around and hold out her hands. “Doubting myself means doubting my magic and the power behind it. I haven’t done this before, but I know I can do it.”

“But this is something I made.” Maggie watched the protection runes solidify on her skin as Lucy painted. “Doesn’t this all depend on me?”

“In a way, it does.” Lucy finished Maggie’s runes and moved on to Alex. “And I’m not going to analyze why you feel like just disappearing. But I am gonna tell you that there are at least seven people right here, right now, that want you around. Me and Lois NEVER do anything we don’t want to do. I have a feeling your aunt wouldn’t drive here if she were relieved you were gone. I’ve met Mrs. Kent only once before, and she is not the kind of person who just sets an entire political career aside for a few days to help just anyone.”

“I’ve been rebelling since the first week Kara came to live with us,” Alex said. “Trust me, if I didn’t want to be doing this, I’d be sitting in a corner somewhere with my headphones blasting.”

“And as much as this darkness came from you, something outside of you gave it form.” Lucy locked eyes with Maggie. “If you didn’t want to be here, you wouldn’t have left the storm cellar. Remember that.”

Maggie nodded once. If the darkness was her own fears, then she wasn’t swallowed by them yet. That meant some part of her liked existing more than it did the idea of just...going away.

“Look at those strong, bare shoulders!” Aunt Linda joined them, her spray bottle empty. “Margarita, so scandalous!”

Maggie flexed her arms up. “I need to show off to pretty girls at some point, don’t I?”

Aunt Linda laughed. “Yes, but to which one? The surfer from California or the witch who lives abroad?”

“Oh, there’s no choice,” Lucy said. She winked at Alex when a glare was aimed her way. “I’m willing to share if you are, Alex.”

Alex turned the slightest shade of pink. “I guess Maggie DOES have two arms. One for each of us.”

“Eliza said you can’t date unless I am, too,” Kara pointed out as she and Clark returned to the living room.

Alex rolled her eyes. “I think I know a kid. Kenny’s a nerd just like you.”

Kara rolled her eyes in return. “The only reason you haven’t skipped a grade is that Jeremiah thinks it won’t be good for your social life.”

Lucy sighed. “I get brains and brawn. I’m the luckiest girl alive.”

“Clark, remind me to clean out the attic the next time I’m home,” Mrs. Kent said as she and Lois descended the stairs.

“I’ll do it next week if there are embarrassing pictures of Clark hiding in the boxes,” Lucy volunteered while painting runes on Kara’s hands.

Martha laughed and said she would mark the proper boxes before she returned to D.C. Clark sighed and mumbled about getting the attic cleaned out in the middle of the night.

Lucy clapped her hands together once she was done. “Okay, places everyone! Time to save a cute girl!”

Maggie ignored Lucy, knowing a reaction would only encourage her. Instead, she stood and went to stand in the middle of the cleared space. It was as central to the house as they could manage while still being within sight of windows. Lucy stood behind her, joining hands with Alex and Kara on either side of her. Maggie looked between the sisters to her aunt, who was part of the back-up stabilizing circle. Lucy was pretty sure she could pull this off with only a bit of help, but she still believed in a contingency plan.

“Ready, Maggie?”

Maggie added her hands to where Lucy was holding Alex and Kara’s. “Ready.”

The other teenagers started the first part.

“Powers of the witches rise,  
course unseen across the skies.  
Come to us who call you near,  
come to us and settle here.”

Their hands grew warm in Maggie’s grip, and something made the hair on her neck stand on end.

Martha, Clark, and Lois didn’t hesitate with their part.

“For every witch, in every hour,  
Send us now the greatest power.  
Brick and mortar, wood and stone,  
Protect our center, protect our home.”

Something rumbled under Maggie’s bare feet, but it wasn’t something that made her afraid.

One by one, Lucy said the names associated with the sigils on Maggie’s back. One by one, inches of her skin surrounding the bruise began to burn.

There was a roar somewhere in the house. Light poured in from the windows, though the sun didn’t shine directly into them.

Maggie looked her aunt in the eye and got a single nod. Taking a deep breath, Maggie tightened her grip on Lucy, Alex, and Kara’s hands.

“Shadows of hopelessness, fear, and doubt  
Margarita Rodas cast you out.  
I deem you protector, not destroyer,  
And reclaim you as Margarita Sawyer.”

What few shadows were left in the house seemed to grow around them. The darkness inked out to the space above Maggie’s head and swirled. Knowing now that this was her own nightmare, Maggie wasn’t as terrified as she had been. Oh, she was still afraid, but as Mrs. Kent said, that was only natural.

Maggie’s fears kept her safe by making her stop and think. Without that hesitance, Maggie would charge recklessly into danger and get hurt. She couldn’t imagine what her journey south would have been like if she hadn’t been prepared.

Maggie looked up at the growling mass of darkness. “I reclaim you as Margarita Sawyer.”

The knot of everything that terrified Maggie descended on her.

Lucy felt something in her chest break at the sound of Maggie screaming in pure horror. Both Alex and Kara squeezed her hands harder. Lucy saw Lois and Martha hold Aunt Linda back. She started repeating the names of sigils, begging the associated powers to protect and guide Maggie.

Alex and Kara joined in, their voices shaking as Maggie was caught in a tornado of her own nightmares.

Then everything snapped into place.

The darkness was gone. The bruise faded away. Maggie sagged a little but kept her feet under her.

The floorboards rattled under their feet, and a screech echoed from far away.

“What is _that_?” Lois demanded.

Lucy held on tight. “Maggie didn’t just expel her every fear in a creepy old storm cellar at the sight of a tornado. Something pulled it out of her.” She looked at the sisters. “Ready?”

They nodded. “Ready.”

“Maggie?”

“Let’s do this.”

“In this tween time, this brightest hour,  
we call upon the sacred power.  
Three together one between,  
command the evil to be seen.  
In innocence, we search the skies,  
Enchanted are our new found eyes.”

The screech came from below, a smoke colored grey-green of dying plants shooting up between the teenagers and adults. It gathered above them. Looking up, they all saw something different.

Alex saw the churning water after a wipeout. Lucy, her witchiness influenced by popular culture, saw the twisted form of a dementor. Kara’s heart rate sped as her body froze at the swirling sight of the Phantom Zone. Maggie watched a pitch black shadow with coal ember eyes lean in close to her.

“Spirits of air, field, and sea  
Set us of this demon free;  
Beasts of hoof and beasts of shell,  
Drive this evil back to hell!”

Lucy heard Mrs. Kent gasp behind her and wondered what the woman saw as the smoke dissipated.

Silence fell over the group.

When nothing else happened, Aunt Linda was the first to sigh in relief. Everyone followed suit; shoulders and grips relaxed for the first time in a long time.

Lucy chuckled as she heard the damn roosters outside for the first time in two days. Then the dizziness hit. “I need a nap.”

The other three teenagers barely voiced their agreement before collapsing.

* * *

For the first time in almost a week, Maggie laid back and looked up at the stars without an ounce of fear. It helped that she was jammed between Alex and Lucy in a warm loft of a barn filled with life. She took a deep breath and couldn’t help but smile. Safe, cared for, and well fed. What more could she want?

“If you don’t eat your s’more, I’m claiming it in the name of the Danvers,” Alex said around a mouthful of marshmallow.

Maggie took her time sitting up. “Eat my s’more, and that’s the last thing of mine you’ll eat.”

Lucy held her hand up for a high five while Alex turned bright red.

“If this is the only way I can rub off on you,” Lucy said as she laced their fingers together, “I’ll take it.”

“You’re just a horrible influence,” Maggie told her. She looped an arm with Alex’s so she could eat with her other hand. “I’d wanna date Alex properly instead of jumping to the naked fun time.”

Alex sputtered about distance and school and Kara.

Lucy smirked. “Notice she’s not mentioning that we’re all girls.”

“That’s not a problem,” Alex said, confused. “I mean, okay, I never thought of girls as an option before, and I thought I liked boys, but I don’t get the annoyed feeling when I think about-” Her eyes went wide. “Never mind.”

Maggie tilted her head, trying to catch Alex’s averted gaze. “When you think about what?”

Alex shrugged. “I always feel...detached? When my friends talk about their guy celebrity crushes and what boy they’re gonna ask to homecoming. I don’t understand why that’s a big deal.” She glanced at Maggie and Lucy before going back to poking at her crumbs. “And yeah, I blush when you two say things, but that’s not cause I’m embarrassed. A little bit is cause I’m not used to it. But most of it… I like it. A lot. I didn’t know I would.”

Maggie felt Lucy’s hand tighten in her own and knew Lucy was using Maggie as an anchor. They both wanted the same thing: lean over and see if Alex liked kissing girls as much as she enjoyed their flirting. But kissing was too much too soon. Alex had just admitted she liked girls.

Maybe not too long, though. Maggie only had four more days until Alex had to go back to California.

“Girls! It’s getting late.” They turned to look at Aunt Linda as she and Mrs. Kent meandered over from the house. “I don’t expect you to sleep any time soon, but I want you three to at least lay down. Maggie, we have a bit of drive and then a lot of packing to start on tomorrow.”

Mrs. Kent had worked her own kind of magic while the teenagers slept off magical exhaustion and secured a house and job for Maggie and her aunt.

Lucy perked up. “Can I come with? I will totally help pack if it means I can see how many shades of red I can get outta Maggie.”

Aunt Linda laughed as Maggie shoved her shoulder into Lucy’s. “If it’s okay with your sister, I’m sure we could use the extra hands.”

“Can I help, too?” Alex asked. “I promise to actually be of use.”

Lucy blew a raspberry at her.

Mrs. Kent chuckled. “There’s a trailer you can borrow,” she told Aunt Linda. “That way you can actually bring things back to Smallville and have a car full of helpers.”

Aunt Linda shook her head. “Margarita, you’ll cause such a scandal, being seen with two pretty young ladies.” She grinned. “It’ll be a perfect good-bye to Blue Springs.”

Even though Maggie felt a flutter of fear in her stomach, the smile on her face was one of excitement. Yes, she was scared of what would happen when word reached her father that she was holding hands with girls. But with Alex and Lucy at her side, Maggie felt like she could face that particular demon with no problem.

“Hey, Lucy, can I borrow that crop top again?”


End file.
